


I Tried

by werebunny131



Series: Lion King One-Shots [4]
Category: The Lion King (1994)
Genre: Gen, Reflection on Self Worth, and lack thereof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 20:12:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13818579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werebunny131/pseuds/werebunny131
Summary: They say that as long as you keep trying, you'll eventually succeed.Yeah. Right. Unless you're me.





	I Tried

I tried.

I tried so hard. So hard to make her happy. To make her proud of me. I had felt, since I was a cub, that if I could just get her affection, everything would turn out alright. I felt that way because Mother being proud of _me_ was downright impossible. Just like our lives being anything other than pathetic wrecks. If I got Mother's approval, then _everything_ impossible was going to happen. Like Kovu caring about the Pride. Or Vitani not being a smart-ass. Or these cursed termites not _biting me!_

I tried.

And…failed.

A lot.

A whole lot.

Fine, I'll admit. I was the idiot of our exiled pride. The clumsy, bumbling idiot. I wasn't strong, I wasn't fast, I wasn't…

I wasn't _Kovu._

I tried to be! For his whole life. His happy, _destined_ life, I tried to be him. To be strong, and fast, and have the hopes of our family riding on my shoulders! I could take it! I know I could! If anyone would ever just give me a _chance!_ Just one chance, and I would show them all that I could be worth something.

And then my mother would be proud of _me_. She would look up at me, admiration in her eyes, and she would smile. At _me_. Not anyone else. For one glorious moment, _I_ would have her attention.

But…no matter how hard I tried…my chance didn't come. It was always Kovu, Kovu Kovu _KovuKovuKovu!_ I was sick of it! But what could I do? I never even got a chance to try. Not for a very long time.

Not until Kovu showed his true colors. His true, _traitorous_ , colors! He had his chance, his beautiful _chance!_ His chance to make everything right for us. And he… _wasted_ it!

If I'd had that chance, I would have taken it!

But fine. _Fine!_ If Kovu wasn't going to take out Simba, I would!

Well…I'd be in the group that would take him out at least!

And as we chased that high-and-mighty king through that canyon, I felt fantastic! We had him running for his life! The so-called 'great ruler' of the Pridelands was now our prey. And we would catch him.

But this prey was too smart for its own good. Stupid king knew no one would climb after him, for fear of being crushed by a tumbling log. We couldn't get to him.

Not from this end anyway…

Kovu had broken away from us, and he was now at the top of the log-filled slope. He was positioned just right to finally cement our plans!

Even I knew right then that Kovu _had_ to be the Chosen One. Only he could ever have another chance, so close to the first!

But he _wasted_ it!

_Again!_

Well, fine!

**FINE!**

I wasn't going to sit back and let my chance slip away! Yeah, it would be dangerous, but I had waited my whole life for one, _just one_ , little, chance to come my way. And it had.

Danger or no, I wasn't going to waste it.

I started climbing.

I called for my mother to watch. Childish, yes. But this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I was going to make sure she saw it!

I was doing pretty well too. I caught up to our fleeing king. He was scared. He was weak. For once in my life, I felt powerful. I felt like a true predator. I outstretched my paw, and did what our whole pride had dreamed of doing since our long exile.

I sank my claws into him.

Yeah, ok, it was only about half an inch into his back leg, but it was something! He was wounded! By my paw! I had hurt the king! Even Kovu hadn't done that!

I…I was better than Kovu…

For just one beautiful moment, _**I**_ felt like the Chosen One.

And then…I stopped being Kovu, and went back to being me. Clumsy, bumbling me. In a position where 'clumsy' and 'bumbling' can put you in danger. My footing wasn't as sure anymore. My paws were slipping a bit. But I couldn't fall! I couldn't fail now! No, I was finally getting my _chance!_ It couldn't just end now!

But…it did…

I never thought that, when I would see my doom coming, it would be a log, at my face.

Even my death was going to be pathetic.

But, there was something…Pathetic though it may be; I finally got what I had always dreamed of. She was looking down at me, after working so hard to get me out of the mess I had made. She cared. She _cared._ I could see the affection in her eyes.

And I could see the pride.

I had wounded Simba. I had sunk my claws into him. For Scar. For the Outsiders. For her.

And for me.

I had always felt that if I could just get my mother to be proud of me, everything could turn out okay. Well I had my mother's attention in the end. And as everything grew dimmer, I felt…okay…

I'm sorry Mother. I'm sorry I didn't finish the job. But I did my best. And I did _something_ Mother. I hurt him a little, and I guess that's enough for me. And even if I wasn't the 'Chosen One', in the end I did what Kovu _never_ did.

I _tried_.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally Posted on Fanfiction.net


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